Breathe In, Breathe Out
by Thetiesthatbindus
Summary: No Voldemort, No second wizarding war, Everybody lives AU. Harry is fresh out of Hogwarts as a dueling prodigy, follows him as he attempts to become the strongest duelist in the world! Features his wins and defeats, young love and heartbreaks, and epic battles. HarryxDaphne.


Breathe In, Breathe out

'_Breathe in, breathe out; breathe in, breathe out' I repeat my mantra over and over again. It helps for whenever I become nervous. You see, anxiety is running rampant in my brain today. Luckily, this creed helps settle my nerves and allows me to focus on the task at hand. I never needed to steel my nerves more than I had to today. This is because today is an important day…_

_Oops, scratch that._

_Today is the __**most**__ important day of my career, of my life. You may be asking why? Well, I'll tell you. First however, we need to set the scene. The backdrop to my awesome skill and amazing good looks. _

_My name is Harry Potter—super cool name, right? And some call me a dueling prodigy. And you see, today is the U-17 International Dueling Championship. Which is a tournament I am expected to win. The tournament itself is pretty straight forward, 12 of the most talented young witches and wizards are trying to be the last one standing. Or in layman's terms, 11 witches and wizards are gunning for __**my **__title. The title I've held for 3 years. I've won the title every year since I was 14. And now I'm 17, a fresh pup out of Hogwarts and still wet behind the ears. Ready to take the wizarding world by storm._

_Now it's time for some context—trust me, you won't regret it._

_You guys need to understand, that this was the single most important tournament and moment of my young life. First, I can't lose—not now. Especially when everyone expects me to win. It would be the most humiliating event ever. Second, I come from an old and wealthy wizarding family—the Potters— who are known for their prowess with a wand. From a young age, I was taught the art of dueling. And once my family realized I was talented, they focused on honing my skill. In short terms, my duty to House Potter is to perform and do my absolute best to not shame House Potter. And third, this is going to be my last duel as an amateur. After the U-17 championships I am going to try my luck on the International Professional Dueling Tour. I want to end my amateur career on a high note and gain some momentum for the international bracket._

_I begin pacing around the room which is another one of my defense mechanisms made to protect myself from the extreme anxiety that dueling gives me. Ever since I was young, I was brought up knowing that second place is failure. And I am no failure. No one has ever called me a failure. I was a Prefect, a Head Boy, and a dueling prodigy. I wasn't going to give people a reason to call me a failure now. So, I go over to the night table and I quickly scan over the piece of parchment that Sirius made me, detailing the spell chains that I should use. My hands were slightly clammy and on the precipice of my subconscious, something felt wrong._

_Wait, I'm going to back up a tad. _

_Currently, I'm far away from home—which is Godric's Hollow. Small little village in the UK, very quaint. Right now, I'm in New York City waiting for my name to be called. The IDC put me up in a nice American hotel that was furnished with beautiful wood carvings of wizard history. I look back at the slip of parchment that Sirius gave me and sighed in relief. Just seeing it shows me that I am going to be okay. I have complete faith in my skills and abilities. More importantly, I have faith in Sirius. Truth be told, I should not be worried at all, most of these opponents were barely more skilled than fourth years to me. I just get jitters whenever I have to duel and it's totally irrational. That's not to say I don't like my other opponents though. I try to be cordial and courteous to every one of them. However, one opponent stands above the rest: Daphne Greengrass—cold, aloof, serious, and extremely talented—she is who I wanted. She's who I need. She challenges me to be the very best that I can be. She is the only girl that I can truly respect as my equal, besides my mum. Too bad she hates me, for some unknown reason! What could I have done to her? I'm basically an angel. I never felt romantic feelings for any girl before her and I doubt I will have romantic feelings for a girl after her._

_But then, a voice slices through my thoughts, like a knife going through hot butter. "Harry James Potter, please move into the atrium," it said. The voice was mechanical, almost like one of those muggle contraptions—automobiles. Her voice was like cogs, turning in perfect harmony, neither too soft nor too harsh. A voice void of emotion, neither caring nor loathing. Pure indifference. This was not reassuring. So, I scrounge up all of my belongings and put them into my pack that was enhanced with an enlarging charm. I walked up the steps to reach the atrium. Once I reached it, I turned around. I could not help but notice a large parchment attached to the walls. And there in all of its glory was the U-17 international dueling rankings. This was the paper that determined my worth in my family, my parents not included. I took the time to examine the paper, it read:_

_International Dueling Federation U-17 Rankings_

_Harry James Potter, Great Britain, Age 17. Previous: 1_

_Winston Jacobson, United States, Age 16. Previous:4_

_Daphne Greengrass, Scotland, Age 17. Previous: 3_

_Ken Yoshimura, Japan, Age 17. Previous: 5 _

_Aimée Bernard, France, Age 16. Previous: 2_

_Thomas Weber, Germany, Age 16. Previous: 6_

_Jessica Winter, United States, Age 16. Previous: 7_

_Su Li, China (Great Britain resident), Age 17. Previous: 8_

_Boris Tal, Russia, Age 15. Previous: NR_

_Sneha Patel, India, Age 15. Previous: NR_

_This is the last ranking chart before the U-17 Championship, any duelist aged 17 names' will be removed and their name will be transferred to the senior dueling chart. _

_Lastly, us at the ranking committee, would like to congratulate Mister Harry Potter for his expected debut in the top 10 of the senior charts next month!_

_My eyes glance over the names on the list. Stopping for a second longer on the name that occupies the 3__rd__ slot. On most days these other duelists and I were on amicable terms but today I smelled blood. I was like a goblin overtaken with bloodlust. _

_I couldn't help but beam in pride however when three of the top ten duelists attended Hogwarts and graduated with me. 'Harry' I chided to myself in third person 'no time to get sentimental. I then look into a mirror that was inside of the atrium and I calm myself in my reflection. And while looking into the mirror, I repeat:_

'_Breathe in, breathe out' I say a final time right outside of the dueling chamber. My anxiety getting one last spell in. Two thoughts rummage through my head. One last match, for all of the marbles. One last match to seal my legacy as the most accomplished youth duelist ever. My name is Harry James Potter, and failure is not an option._

_And with that the bright lights turn on and I stalk out ready to feast on the competitors._


End file.
